Here With Me
by XxPassionBlossomxX
Summary: Inspired by the song Here With Me by Dido. What happens when Ariel's fiancé dies, leaving her to face life without him. Isolation from her friends, destruction of precious things, an engagement to a conceited Prince. Will Ariel ever find happiness again?


A/N: This is a short story which goes with my youtube video of the same name, because it's only a short story I havn't used lots of detail.

The link to the youtube video is on my profile page.

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One day, Ariel was in her grotto when she saw a silhouette overhead. She had always been a curious mermaid, so she swam to the surface to see what it was. As soon as she saw the ship, she swam over to it and looked to see who was on board. She saw two men playing a game of chess, she knew this because ever since her father had united mermaids and humans, Ariel and her sisters had been learning about the humans and chess was the only game she couldn't quite understand. She was surprised at how young the man on the left was, usually the only people she saw traveling on ships were older couples and families. Ariel watched as the men played and felt herself becoming more and more attracted to the handsome man before her. But she knew she wasn't quite old enough to wander around the human world by herself, so she returned to the ocean.

A few days had gone by and Ariel was finding it hard to get the young man out of her head. Flounder, knowing about Ariel's encounter with the man, swam to Ariel to let her know that the ship had returned. Ariel immediately swam to the surface, seeing the ship was heading home, she looked around the deck and she spotted the same man, but something was different this time, there was a woman with him and they were dancing. She looked away quickly, feeling stupid for not realising that the man was on the trip to pick up his girlfriend and take her to his home.

"Dimitri, with your help. Your sister will be the most gracious woman at tomorrow nights ball." She heard the older man say and was excited to know so many things about the man, Dimitri. She was relieved the man was not already engaged with the woman and decided, even if it was against her father's rules, to follow the ship and attend the same ball as him and his sister.

Ariel, turning herself into a human, attended the ball. Dimitri entered the ball and the first thing he saw was Ariel, he was immediately captivated by her beauty and decided to get to know her during the ball. At the end of the ball they shared a kiss, promising to keep in touch.

A few months had gone by and Ariel and Dimitri were a couple, they saw each other every day and their love had remained strong, even after the arguments every couple has to deal with. Their one year anniversary arrived, and after getting his and Ariel's families blessing, he proposed to her and she eagerly accepted, knowing that their life together would be a full and happy one.

A few days before the wedding, Ariel and Dimitri spend the night together. After she falls asleep, he blows out the candle and leaves to meet his sister, Anya, who would help him organise a surprise for Ariel.

Anya had been waiting for her brother, and as usual he was late. She started to get worried when the hours started to pass and there was no sign of him. She decided to walk to his house, thinking he was still there with Ariel. But on the way she saw a crowd had gathered on the road, she rushed over to see what was going on and realised that the worst had happened. Dimitri had gotten into an accident. She heard an ambulance siren and so decided to call Ariel to tell her what had happened. Ariel arrived on the scene but Dimitri had already been pronounced dead, both girls were devastated and broke down together.

Months went by and Ariel had spent her time alone, either in her room or in her grotto, where she kept the gifts Dimitri had bought for her. She refused to go to the surface and hadn't talked with Anya since Dimitri's accident. Her sisters tried to talk to her about what happened, but she didn't listen, instead she chose to stay in her dreams where Dimitri existed, alive and well.

Triton decided to talk to his daughter and summoned her to his throne room. He told her it had been a long time since Dimitri's death and that she should move on with her life and stop isolating herself from her friends and family. She put on a fake smile, reassuring him that she was fine and that he didn't have to worry about her. Triton told her that he couldn't help but worry, especially when she had lost someone so close to her. This annoyed Ariel and she shouted at him, telling him she never asked to be worried about. Triton sighed and lifted his daughter's chin, telling her he only wanted what was best for her. He also asked her to meet the Prince, a request she had always previously refused. She once again said no, telling her father that her feelings for Dimitri could never be replaced. She left for her grotto after telling him that if her mother were still alive, she would have understood how she felt. Her words and her stubbornness angered Triton and he began to lose all sympathy for Ariel's situation.

Ariel looked at her engagement ring, like she had so many times before. She closed the box that it sat in and placed it in a special corner of her grotto. She turned around to leave, but was surprised to see her father standing there, she asked him why he was there and he told her that if she wouldn't forget about Dimitri, he would make her forget. Ariel watched, horrified, as he started destroying everything in her grotto, all her gifts from Dimitri, including her engagement ring. Ariel broke down and started to cry, feeling as though she had lost all connection with Dimitri. Triton left looking back once, and regretted what he had just done.

Triton introduced Ariel to Prince Eric, now that she had lost everything she cared about Ariel had become easier to control. Eric fell for her because she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Ariel had dinner with him, but all he did was talk about himself and his explorations. Ariel didn't care about any of this and was only thinking of what she had lost. She looked up and saw Dimitri sitting across from her, raising his glass, like he did at their engagement party. She smiled at him, thinking he was really there and was disappointed when she realised her grief was starting to play tricks on her. She was once again face to face with Eric, he smiled at her thinking her happiness was caused by hearing his stories.

The next day Ariel overheard a conversation between Eric and her father. Because of her beauty alone, Eric had decided that they should be married as soon as possible. This greatly upset Ariel, she starts to think back to Dimitri and how he had proposed to her, the thought that she would marry another man makes her run out of the castle crying.

A few days had gone by and Ariel was sitting by the ocean, thinking about her situation. After a few hours she had finally decided to confront her father. She jumped into the ocean and swam straight to her father's throne room.

Seeing her there Triton got angry, telling her that she should be preparing for her upcoming wedding. Ariel told him she couldn't marry someone she didn't love. Triton, for a moment, realised that he might have been wrong to push her into this relationship, but he shook his head clearing away the thought and told her that it was too late because the plans had already been made. Ariel pleaded with her father, not wanting to spend her life with the conceited Prince. Once again Triton's temper got the better of him and he called for his advisor, Ursula. Ursula used her powers to take away Ariel's voice, making her unable to voice her opinions of the Prince and the wedding.

A few days later, Eric and Ariel's engagement party was taking place. Ariel, unable to face it, was outside the castle with Max, the dog Eric had bought her to make her feel more at home. She smiled at his antics, but became upset once again when she looked to the sky to see Dimitri's face. Ariel heard a voice and she saw Anya walking past her towards Max. Anya asked her why she was outside when the engagement party was inside. Being in a familiar situation Ariel tried to tell Anya how she felt, she held her throat when no words came out, forgetting she could no longer speak. Anya thought for a moment and turned to Ariel, telling her that Dimitri would want her to be happy with whatever she decided to do.

As soon as the party was over Ariel returned to her grotto. She saw Flounder and Sebastian putting something together. She wondered over to see that they had put together the box which held her ring, they told her to open it and she smiled when she saw her engagement ring in perfect condition. She hugged her friends, telling them she would be forever grateful for their hard work. She told them what she had planned to do and they said a tearful goodbye.

Ariel stood on the edge of a cliff and jumped over the edge, the ring box in her hands. Flounder and Sebastian told her father what had happened and he swam as fast as he could to his youngest daughter. He realised he was too late and cradled Ariel in his arms, he looked to the sky hoping she was happy wherever she was now.

In heaven, Dimitri stood with a heavy heart, he had been watching over Ariel and saw everything she had been through since he died. Ariel walked behind him but he didn't see her. Now that she was in heaven she had regained her voice and her singing made Dimitri look back in disbelief as he saw his fiancé's smiling face for the first time in almost a year. They run to each other and share a kiss, Dimitri lifted Ariel up and spun her around, so happy they had found each other.

They're still together, forever in heaven, as happy as they were when they were alive.


End file.
